Unity brand quick strut 118JD492 11492, something wrong with the top plate angle ?

shodanx · Post by **shodanx** » 09 Mar 2020, 14:17

Hi,

I'm having the front suspension rebuilt on my XC70 2004.
I got all the parts off ebay and everything looked great except there may be an issue with the quick struts ?

When installing the angle of the shock seems wrong, like it points too far outside. The mecanic could force it in place to install the bolts but it felt like it was under more tension than usual on both sides.

The car went to alignement, and it could be made straight, the mecanic describes the ride as "bouncy".

Just wondering if you guys heard of such an issue ?

I figure if there's too much sideload, when the shocks won't slide properly ?

I purchased these last summer so the warranty's out.

I haven't tried the car myself yet, I might just try running it as is.

Here are some pictures, please let me know what you think

Post by **- Pete -** » 09 Mar 2020, 20:10

Do you still have your originals?
If the “shocks” weren’t caked in oil/debris they are likely still good & can be reused w/new spring seats & top mounts.

I fear your eBay acquisition is of low quality & will soon be in need of replacing. A bouncy ride on new shocks/struts says there is very little damping taking place. These cars tend to spit out Chinese/low quality parts. This is especially true with suspension components.

shodanx · Post by **shodanx** » 15 Mar 2020, 14:23

Hello,

thanks for the reply
I called Unity manufacturer tech support, they said this is normal because everything is too stiff when new.
That's why it was hard to install and adjust camber.

Alignment guy suggested buying cam bolt to dial in the camber, because right now it is barely inside the camber angle spec

So waiting on ebay cam bolt kit to try this out.

Post by **oragex** » 15 Mar 2020, 15:09

Do you know how the mechanic installed them ? Usually we would attach them first at the three upper bolts - just a few turns each, not fully tight, then press don't on the wheel hub to align the lower holes and insert the two large bolts - this may take a lot of force to press down on the hub if the control arm has new bushings. But once the bolts are placed, you can easily move the bottom of the strut to change the camber, and then keep it in place while tightening a bolt. Once the wheel is back and the car lowered, I torque down the three upper bolts.

Maybe try posting a picture with the upper portion of the strut wit the wheel lifted

shodanx · Post by **shodanx** » 15 Mar 2020, 17:33

Yes the top of the strut was bolted down and it took a lot of force to line up the holes to attach the knuckle.
At wheel alignement, the guy doing the alignment was barely about to get camber inside the spec, and still it is at the limit of acceptable, not nominal.

He said that with cam bolts he would have more leverage to bring camber to dead center. I found a set of camber bolt for 20$ so I ordered some to give it a shot, Will post back with results

Post by **chrism** » 15 Mar 2020, 21:23

I’m going to risk asking the dumbest question..... Is there any way this could be a case of mixing LH for RH?

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 15 Mar 2020, 22:52

chrism wrote: ↑15 Mar 2020, 21:23 I’m going to risk asking the dumbest question..... Is there any way this could be a case of mixing LH for RH?

Could be, 11491 is left (Driver side) and 11492 is right (Passenger side).

shodanx · Post by **shodanx** » 23 May 2020, 02:13

Hello,
Quick follow up on this issue, I wasn't doing the suspension myself (because it was the winter then, for the time it took I should have done it myself, regret, waster 500$ in labour really)

So here is what I decided to do from the mechanic's advice. I ordered cam bolts for the shocks, they put that in and they aligned it "perfectly" (also tightened the wheel bolts to 500 effing foot pounds, idiots !)

But anyway, the car rolls like a dream now and it's great.
I talked with tech support from unity, they said it is just the rubbers are very stiff when new.

Also, the alignement guy told me, he could align it without the cam bolt, but the best he could do by pushing hard, was to bring it -just- inside the tolerance his machine was saying.

I suspect his alignement tolerance was too narrow anyway...

So, if you're doing a front suspension, just pay the extra 12$ for a set of cam bolts. Seems like it makes alignement much easier...